DUBAI: Venice Film Festival chief Alberto Barbera spoke to Deadline magazine at the midway point of the famed Italian event and touched on the ongoing Israeli military campaign in Gaza and related protests in Venice. Thousands of anti-war protesters attended a march on Saturday, with Barbera telling Deadline the protesters did not wish to enter the festival grounds. “They didn’t want to enter. I think around 30 people tried.

In the days leading up to the festival, hundreds of film professionals signed an open letter demanding that the star-studded event take a stance against the crisis in Gaza.

Demonstrators said the film industry should use its public platform at Venice to focus attention on the war in Gaza.

VENICE: Thousands protested Saturday against Israel’s siege of Gaza on the sidelines of the Venice Film Festival, seeking to move the spotlight from movie drama to real-world…

DUBAI: Venice Film Festival chief Alberto Barbera spoke to Deadline magazine at the midway point of the famed Italian event and touched on the ongoing Israeli military campaign in…